Vehicles sit on the road by a missing section of guard rail along a segment of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel where a tractor-trailer went over the southbound side at the 15-mile marker, Thursday afternoon Feb. 9, 2017, near Virginia Beach, Va.

NORFOLK (AP)- Authorities say a tractor-trailer driver who initially survived after plunging off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel last week succumbed to hypothermia and drowned.

Donna Price is district administrator for Virginia's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. She says the death has been ruled accidental.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded a water temperature of about 45 degrees when Joseph Chen went off the bridge Thursday while driving in high winds.

Authorities said the 47-year-old from Greenville, North Carolina, was first seen standing on the floating truck. But a Navy helicopter later found him in the water and unresponsive. He died before reaching the hospital.

Bridge official Thomas Anderson said driver error likely caused the accident. He said Chen was seen weaving through traffic before driving off the span's left side.

DOVER, Del. -- Correctional officials say officers at the Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna confiscated contraband this week, though state officials and union leaders say a sophisticated shank was among the items collected and believe it demonstrateMore

DOVER, Del. -- Correctional officials say officers at the Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna confiscated contraband this week, though state officials and union leaders say a sophisticated shank was among the items collected and believe it demonstrateMore

The Talbot Boys statue in Easton has held it's ground - for now. Pat O'Brien says she can trace her roots to some of the names listed on the statue. She says, despite recent events, it should stay. But Richard Potter with Talbot County NAACP says the statue represents the hate similar to what happened in Charlottesville.

The Talbot Boys statue in Easton has held it's ground - for now. Pat O'Brien says she can trace her roots to some of the names listed on the statue. She says, despite recent events, it should stay. But Richard Potter with Talbot County NAACP says the statue represents the hate similar to what happened in Charlottesville.